Beneath The Red
by Tayeko
Summary: AU Before the events of FFVII.... President ShinRa has been murdered, a cryptic note left behind. The hunt begins for the killer, but all too soon, ShinRa, Inc. is thrown into a web of bloodshed they hadn't concieved....
1. Prologue

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**I don't own Final Fantasy VII, any of its characters, places or entities.**_

As well I do not own the following characters:

XinShi Yukasama  
Nakumine Kaizer  
Sess Trygg  
Seraphian Castus  
Rio Litnia  
Also this is an alternate universe fic... so it doesn't follow game canon. It takes place before the Nibelhiem incident and drastically changes the storyline from there.

When the phone rang, President Shin-Ra was already dead.

His body lay prone and unmoving, splayed across his desk, face down in a macabre worship to the workload that surrounded him. Outside his picture window, the dark Midgarian night sky was made unusually bright by the illuminated sky rises and buildings that lined the city's horizons.

There was a katana lodged in his back, pointed straight and upward toward the ceiling. The blade was clean and silver and shone with a sparkle, basked in the lights of the city outside. The handle was wrapped in a silky black cloth, tied with a simple white ribbon of linen. And there was a note attached, writ in blood, on smooth, white paper.

**_And the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word, and it is made fruitless. _**

Peace be still.

It was eight thirty at night, a cold night in late November. President Shin-Ra's phone continued to ring, but he did not answer.

Not then, and would not ever.

It was already well into the late morning hours — three- twenty-seven to be exact, when Vice President Rufus Shin-Ra's phone began to ring.

At first, his mind held the grips of sleep, ignoring the obnoxious ringing, trying to pass it off as part of a dream he was not having. His arm closed protectively around the warm body that lay beside him, pushing close to her and letting his face fall next to her hair. With a gentle breath, Rufus inhaled the lacey scent of amber and jasmine that rose from her tresses.

Yet, the phone did not cease ringing.

Its persistence was admirable, and broke the thinning barrier that held Rufus Shin-Ra bound to the confines of welcome and much needed sleep. With a sudden burst of anger, Rufus suddenly rose, tearing away from his beloved beside him, flailing his arms in fury and shoving the covers out of the way, reaching to grab the phone.

"This had better be important," he growled, in an almost demonic voice, placing the receiver to his ear.

"Mr. Vice President," a male voice said. "This is Nakumine Kaizer, SOLDIER 1st Class, and Lead Detective here in Midgar."

The words were spoken with an ease and cockiness that irritated Rufus, even through the haze of sleep he still hadn't sorted his way through. Most people sounded downright intimidated when they addressed Rufus personally, emphasized by their shaking voices and fondness of the word "Sir". Yet this man woke Rufus from sleep in the middle of the night and seemed confident, even amused by it.

Rufus had heard of Kaizer before, but SOLDER and criminal justice was not an area he kept much track of, so he knew very little about him. Most of Rufus' work involved finances and business dealings.

"What is it?" Rufus snapped, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "It is three thirty in the morning," he stated, as if it could very well mean the end of the world.

"Mr. Vice President," Nakumine said, in a calm but, almost condescending tone, as if he were preparing to scold Rufus for something, "I must inform you that… your father — the President — has been murdered."

Suddenly Rufus Shin-Ra was smiling.

"Pretty shitty how he ended up," Lt. Sessomaru Trygg said, from where he stood beside President Shin-Ra's liquor cabinet, quietly pouring himself a shot of whiskey. "Wonder who bagged him."

"Yeah," Nakumine Kaizer said, standing over the President's desk, staring down at the man. The entire office was now a full fledged crime scene, as law enforcement officials scoured the room. The coroner was due to arrive any moment.

Sess and Nakumine had been working together in SOLDIER's elite Criminal Justice Department for over five years, both having worked their ways through the three ranks of SOLDIER, and their devotion and intellect had soon granted them the high ranking positions they now held.

The Criminal Justice division was created by Shin-Ra, operating directly out of SOLDIER, as a means to quite literally keep the streets of Midgar and other cities controlled by Shin-Ra, safe and clean. Their duty was to enforce the law in Midgar, investigate crimes, and they reported to the District Attorney, a man appointed by President Shin-Ra himself in an effort to "appear to provide some level of justice to the People."

Nakumine, dark haired and outwardly lanky, hailed from the city of Wutai, with a rather mysterious past that was held confidential from many who knew and worked with him. But his strength and agility was incomparable by most, and his uncanny cleverness and reasoning was almost surreal. At only twenty-five, he had already achieved what some thought was impossible. In five years on SOLDIER CJD, Nakumine's record was practically impeccable, and he was in high favor with the DA.

Sess Trygg, only a few years older than his partner, was from North Corel, the quiet coal mining village situated near the mountains on the opposite continent. Not much was known about his past either, but it was known that he'd lost an eye in an undisclosed accident. Tall, brawny, and with hair black as night, Sess's strength as well was incredible and had earned him a steady rise through SOLDIER's ranks. It was his intellect that made him an efficient completion to this task force, along side Nakumine.  
"Sess, that could be considered evidence," Nakumine said, turning to his partner. "Leave it alone."

Sess frowned, but downed the shot he'd already poured, and put the bottle back in the cabinet.

"Look at this," Nakumine said.

Sess narrowed his eyes and stepped over, shoving his hands in the pockets of his SOLDIER uniform. CJD agents were noted by the shiny gold badges emblazoned on the left breast of their turtlenecks.

"What have we?"

Nakumine held up the slip of paper, the cryptic words of blood dried to a now dark, rusty brown color. Sess reached up to take it, and read it with care.

"Quoth the bible," he said. "And writ in blood. Classic, leaving a present behind."

"I'm sure it will check out to be Shin-Ra's blood," Nakumine said, walking around behind the desk, and ducking down to check under it for any further evidence.

He rose again. "The katana is pretty spotless," He noted, and Sess nodded. Nakumine snapped his finger at another official and indicated for her to take photos with her camera.

"Not to many people use katana's these days…" Sess said, leaning in to take a closer look at the weapon that was lodged in the President's back.

"Sephiroth," Nakumine said slowly, and the office door flew open.

"Shit," Sess said.

It was the Turks — Veld and Tseng, to be exact. Veld entered the room, casting a long, surveying glance about the office, taking careful note of every activity. Tseng followed him, hands cast at his sides, his gaze penetrating the heavy tension that already filled the room.

Veld walked straight through the scene, making his way to where Nakumine and Sess stood near the body.

"Your work here is done, I think," Veld said to Nakumine, the corners of his mouth turning into a slight frown. "We'll take if from here."

"Don't think so," Nakumine replied evenly. "This is our jurisdiction. And we're waiting on Rufus."

"The _Vice President_," Veld quickly corrected, "Would not oblige to having his father's murder investigated by some...high ranking cops. It's best you let us settle this."

Tseng had begun to dismiss some of the other officials working at the scene, who all looked about in confusion. Sess bit back a snort of laughter and continued to inspect the katana embedded in the President's back.

"Nah, I think we'll do our jobs," Nakumine said, crossing his arms over his chest, "At least, until, the '_Vice President_' gets here."

Nakumine offered Veld a sardonic smile, but Veld merely sneered, and not wanting to further complicate matters before Rufus' arrival, backed off.

Turning away, he nodded. "Very well. We will be waiting."

He gestured to Tseng, and they both turned to leave the crime scene, disappearing into the hallway outside the office.

"Jerk," Sess remarked, "Never did like him."

"Pah," Nakumine said, his eyes still on the door where they'd just left. "Jankovic won't let this go unmanaged. No worries."


	2. Chapter 1

"What's the hurry?"

XinShi Yukasama sat up in the king sized bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and ran a hand through her dark hair, her fingers catching in the rumpled, tangled tresses. Blinking, she stared hard at Rufus, who stood in front of the vanity across from the canopied bed, combing his own hair.

Rufus already had his coat on – a thick, black leather car coat, and seemed to have showered and dressed in a matter of minutes, not bothering to wake XinShi. The sudden coldness of the bed was what finally woke her.

"My father is dead," Rufus said in an emotionless tone, giving himself a final glance in the mirror, before placing the comb down and turning to her. "Murdered." One side of his lips curved into a smile. "Hurry and dress please, you can accompany me upstairs."

"Upstairs?" XinShi wondered sleepily, and kicked her legs out over the side of the bed. He'd been murdered in the tower?

"Why didn't you wake me?" She growled, eyeing Rufus, who stood immaculate in a three piece, white suit, crisp and bright, with naught wrinkle inside. "I need to shower."

"I don't have time," Rufus said, grabbing his keycard from the vanity. "You showered before we went to bed."

"But," XinShi began to protest, but held it back, seeing Rufus wasn't listening to her anymore. Ruefully, she rose and pulled her clothes on.

She couldn't say she didn't share Rufus' seeming excitement at the news. She had never been fond of the fat, jowly President of the company either. In fact, she despised him, hated him. And she had her reasons, reasons that only Rufus and the President himself knew.

But Shin-Ra was dead, and she was happy to hear it.

She pulled on her black pants and a black tank top over her dark, lacey bra. Black was her favorite color, and the only thing that gave her ensemble any contrast was the stark white lab coat, her ID clamped to the front of it, that she threw on overtop of it. She would wear it upstairs to make sure her presence was established and that people knew who she was.

Over this, she put on her own leather jacket, just in case they might have to leave the building for some reason. Midgar was viciously cold this time of year, and an early snowfall would not be improbable.

By the time she was pulling on her black boots, Rufus had already left the bedroom and was standing in the foyer, by the door to the hallway. He glanced at his watch, a gold, diamond encrusted piece, and tapped his foot in impatience.

XinShi took her own keycard, and her purse, stuffing the former into the latter, and rushed out of the bedroom to meet Rufus by the door, pressing her hands against her hair to calm it. She hated to appear tousled or not put together, so she snagged an elastic from her wrist and secured it around her hair, pulling it into a tight ponytail. It made her look more efficient.

Rufus nodded at her, satisfied. Even torn from sleep and forced to move at such speed, XinShi still managed to look commanding and even professional.

They left the apartment and made down the carpeted hallway, to the elevators at the far end. A hundred gunner was patrolling the halls, and immediately, trained its cannons on the pair when they stepped out. Rufus and XinShi ignored it, and soon the robot turned away, having recognized them.

They rode the elevator up to the seventieth floor in silence, XinShi with her hands on her hips, Rufus staring out of the glass at Midgar with what seemed like a permanent leer fixated on his face. His mind was already working in every direction, mapping out the arrangements (which would be procured with haste), and his plans for the company, now that the bastard was i finally out of the way. /i 

In a few short moments, the elevator chimed, and the doors whooshed open, depositing the couple on the seventieth floor, the President's Office.

Rufus rarely visited this office; in fact, he rarely visited Midgar at all. His own office was miles away in Junon. He had only been in Midgar to visit with XinShi for the week, on a vacation from his own work.

As soon as they stepped into the hallway, they were immediately greeted by Tseng and Veld, of the Turks. Veld, the leader, looked troubled, and moved toward Rufus the moment they spotted him emerge from the elevator with XinShi.

"Mr. Vice President," Veld said, taking his hands out of his pockets. "We have a problem."

Rufus didn't consider his father's death to be a problem. In fact, it was just the opposite. Rufus hated his father – everything about him, his greed, his idiocy, and most of all, the way he had treated Rufus and his mother.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Rufus said in response, and held eyes with Tseng the longest, who nodded. "Let's not make this more difficult than it has to be. Just get the body out so we can start the arrangements."

XinShi knew Rufus hated his father, and was even glad he was dead, but even she found it odd that he didn't seem interested in finding out more details about the death, including who may have done it.

"That's the problem," Veld said, shifting his weight where he stood. "We've got two homicide detectives in there from SOLDIER's CJD that refuse to let us handle the situation. They're threatening an investigation."

Rufus waved a hand dismissively in the air, and pushed past Veld and Tseng to enter the office, XinShi following behind him. "SOLDIER operates under my command," he said.

He pushed the Oakwood double doors open, to find the once stately office had become a busy crime scene. MP's and officials searched the room, taking photographs and notes. The medical examiner had arrived and was surveying the body, to which Rufus' eyes immediately stopped on. A pair of detectives was standing with her.

Rufus stared at the huge, purple-suited body of his father, sprawled face down on the wide desk, his blonde head the first thing to be noticed, the overhead lights casting a shiny glow on the man's bald spot.

While XinShi crossed her arms and strolled around the office, surveying the scene and watching as the other's worked, Rufus couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he stepped toward the desk in the center of the room. The medical examiner looked up at him, and Nakumine and Sess, who had been talking with her, did as well.

"Good Evening, gentlemen, or should I say morning?" Rufus said in a surprisingly upbeat tone, considering the circumstances, and it made Nakumine raise an eyebrow, as he cordially reached out to shake the Vice President's hand. "I take it you two are in charge of investigating my father' murder?"

Sess nodded, shaking Rufus' hand as well, although reluctantly. Nakumine nodded beside him.

"That's right. We got the call at about one am, from President Shin-Ra's secretary, Belinda Watts. She'd come back to the office, at approximately 12:45, to retrieve some paperwork she'd forgotten to take home. She saw the lights on and came into the office, and found the body."

"Interesting," Rufus said, and XinShi came up beside him then, glancing down at the body, and the Katana that was still in his back. "Where is Miss Watts now?"

"She's been taken to sector 2 for questioning," Sess said, scratching at the side of his neck. "She was a bit hysterical, and we couldn't really keep her here like that."

"Is she a suspect?" XinShi suddenly asked.

"No… we don't think so," Nakumine answered. "She seems honestly upset by all this, but nonetheless, we are going to question her."

"She was probably sleeping with him," Rufus said harshly, and XinShi's eyes widened for a moment. Nakumine merely stared.

"Well…" Sess mumbled.

"Thank you gentlemen, for your time, but I'd like to have the Turks handle the rest of this investigation forth going," Rufus said then, looking back at Nakumine and Sess, and then down at his father's body. "It's the only way he would have had it, anyway."

"I'm afraid I can't do that,'" Nakumine said, shaking his head. "Jankovich will be here any minute now, to explain why."

Rufus frowned, sneering now. "Jankovich?"

"The District Attorney," Nakumine answered.

Rufus through his head back and laughed, and XinShi felt a shudder pass over her spine. She looked at Rufus questioningly.

"He has no jurisdiction anymore. He was a pawn placed by my father to make the ignorant droves of common folk in this city feel like they were living under a hand of justice. A false hand."

Normally, Nakumine would have agreed with that. He knew as well that President Shin-Ra had many phony and empty ways of convincing the people, the citizenship of his cities, that there was protection that really wasn't there.

Yet, Nakumine knew something the young Vice President didn't know – and he was sure to be blown away by it.

It was then that the office door opened again, and tall, lanky man of fifty, walked in, carrying himself with a limp.

"Speak of the devil," Sess said, and whistled.

b i "Do you think it was too much?"

"What?"

"The Katana."

"No. No I don't. I believe it was rather fitting. We'll use a different weapon, next time."

"Alright… I'm just, worried."

"Don't be. This will quiet down over smoothly. There'll be no heat for this, do you understand?"

"I think so."

"We do not worry now. Yet, forth going we will be more careful. Take more precaution. It will get harder soon, but we will not fail, will we?"

"I hope not."

"That's not the right answer. "

"What is the right answer?"

"We will not. We will not fail."

"Right… we will not fail." /b /i 

Raymore Jancovich looked around the office and immediately shook his head, looking at Harold Shin-Ra's body. Harry had never been an honorable or even decent man, but it was Ray's belief that no man deserved to die this way.

Ray, at fifty had been working in law for almost thirty years, graduating from the acclaimed Junon University of Law, back when Shin-Ra Power and Electric was still Shin-Ra Manufacturing, and Harry Shin-Ra was a young, ruthless, and quick minded businessman.

In the early years, Ray had been a powerful prosecutor, who rarely lost a case. Mayor Domino had relied heavily on Ray to bring every criminal in the city of Midgar to justice.

But that was before SOLDIER, before Shin-Ra became more than just a weapon's manufacturer. When they began to dominate political and military venues in the city, Domino had lost most and soon all of his power.

And so had the law, much to Ray's disgust.

Justice was taken into the hands of SOLDIER, and the Turks, who had their own brand of prosecution. A fair trial soon became unheard of. Criminal were often forced to plea bargain for their freedom, or simply give in to Shin-Ra lackluster option of joining the military.

It had caused Ray to leave Midgar, taking his wife and two young children to Icicle Inn, where he practiced as the lead prosecutor for the small town. They were out of Shin-Ra's sphere of influence, and although work was slow (Icicle Inn was not known for its criminals), it gave Ray a job again.

Until, he'd gotten a call from Harry Shin-Ra.

Apparently, the people of Midgar and Junon were fearful, distrusting of the new law and order. It was akin to marshal law, almost a dictatorship, and it was causing an uproar. Shin-Ra wanted to quell the people's fears and quiet their tongues. i "It was difficult to lead a bucking chocobo," /i had been Harry's words.

So "justice" had been reformed, and Ray returned to Midgar as District Attorney. Had his old job back, although he soon learned it wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

It was more like a front, he soon learned. The SOLDIER CJD had been formed, but more often then not, many crimes were handled in the same way as before. Only if a defendant could actually afford his own lawyer, would a case be brought to trial and even investigated. Most cases were handled in the old way.

That was about to change.

Ray shuffled across the office, nodding at some of the officials working inside. At six three, he was towering, and his limp, which had been a birth defect, was a defining trait. His hair was neatly trimmed, a dark black, peppered with silver gray around his temples, and his eyes, a bright blue, immediately met with Rufus Shin-Ra's.

"Good evening, Mr. President," he said politely, reaching out to shake Rufus' hand. "I am so terribly sorry for your loss."

Rufus slowly reached out to briefly shake Jancovich's hand. His loss? Quite the opposite. This was a call for celebration.

"Don't be," Rufus said. "Now is the time to move on and put this ugliness behind us." He looked down in disgust at his father's corpse. "I understand there are some issues with this investigation, Mr. Jancovich. I'm sure you can understand that I wish for the Turks to handle it, as I'm sure my father would have, as well."

"Call me Ray," he responded, and placed a hand in his pocket, glancing over Rufus's shoulder to nod at Nakumine Kaizer and Sess Trygg, two of the top detectives in SOLDIER CJD. He paused for a moment to glance at the young woman who stood beside Rufus Shin-Ra, dark haired, arms crossed over her chest. She wore a lab coat, but he knew she wasn't part of the medical examiner's staff. He didn't recognize her.

He turned back to Rufus. "I'm afraid that isn't the case, Mr. Vice President. You see, your father left a motion giving full control of all of Midgar and Junon's legal matters to be handled by the court system, and for criminal investigations to be handled under SOLDIER's CDJ, respectively. This applies to any criminal or civil matter that occurs in each of these cities. Likewise, since President Shin-Ra gave legal control back to the court system, his motion is very much valid."

Rufus opened his mouth slightly for a moment, and then frowned darkly. XinShi raised an eyebrow and looked over at Rufus, waiting for the ensuing explosion that was sure to come.

"I don't believe this," Rufus said through clenched teeth, eyeing Ray Jancovich as if he were trying to strike him dead.

"I can show you the document, if you wish," Ray replied.

Rufus practically growled, and XinShi, sensing his' upset, brought a hand carefully to his shoulder. It was taught and tense, and his eyes were cold and angry, glaring at the prosecutor.

While Sess Trygg let out a snort behind them, Nakumine watched Rufus' stiff back, and then turned to Jancovich, who seemed completely unaffected by Rufus' apparent anger.

"We'll need to begin compiling a list of suspects, and bring them in for questioning," Ray said to Nakumine, who nodded. It was evident that Ray was not interested in any protest Rufus might have had at that point. It was time to start working. "Have you any leads?"

"Yeah, actually I do," Nakumine said, stepping past Rufus and XinShi to come closer to Ray. "We're going to question the secretary, Belinda Watts, of course, first. She was the last person here, and she discovered the body."

Sess came up alongside Nakumine with a nod. "We're thinking of bringing General Sephiroth in for questioning. The fact that the murder weapon is a katana doesn't sit well with us."

Veld and Tseng, who had been standing nearby, listening, both looked up sharply at this. Rufus himself even turned to look at Sess.

"Alright then," Ray said. "Summon him. Anyone else?"

"Actually, there is," Nakumine said. "We have cause to question The Vice President."

XinShi opened her mouth a little and let out a shocked gasp. Rufus' eyes went wide, and he turned to face Nakumine.

"Are you insane?"

"Not at all," Nakumine answered calmly, "We need to question you in regards to the murder."

"Absolutely not," Rufus said, looking at the Turks for help, who both stepped forward to his aid. Ray Jancovich held up a hand.

"They can't help you with this," Ray said. "Besides, it's not an indictment. Just questioning."

"You can't be serious," XinShi finally spoke.

"We are," Sess said. "We'd like it if you could come down to Sector Two, Mr. President, as soon as possible. Get this ugliness behind us."

Rufus scowled at Sess' sarcastic use of his own words, feeling his blood boil beneath his flesh. XinShi shook her head in aggravation and disgust, and put her hand on Rufus' arm. "It will be alright. They have nothing."

Rufus nodded, but kept his mouth shut. He'd be calling his lawyer as soon as they left the room.

"Let's go," he said to XinShi. "I will be down at your little station in Sector Two in the morning, with my lawyer," he shot back at Nakumine, Sess, and Ray.

He nodded at Tseng and Veld, who both flanked his sides as he and XinShi wordlessly left the office then.

"Rigor Mortis has set in," the medical examiner suddenly said from behind them. "We better move him out of here."

Nakumine let out a sigh, looking down at the body. Rufus held a lot of power, probably even more now that his father did. He seemed to despise his father, as did the Professor who tagged along with him. It gave him a motive…

Still, Nakumine knew it would be difficult to form a case against Rufus Shin-Ra. And there was still Sephiroth, who needed to be questioned as well.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Sess suddenly said, as if he could read Nakumine's thoughts.

"Agreed," Nakumine said.


End file.
